Improving Lives! Goggle powering new initiative to help low-income earners secure higher-paying jobs

American multinational technology company Google LLC has earned praise for its latest project aimed at uplifting low-income earners in America.

Google on Thursday said this would be done via its $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund which will help drive skill acquisition through a new job training program helping equip workers for higher-paying career opportunities.

According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, The “innovative” program will “equip people with job-ready skills in fields like data analytics, IT support, project management, and UX design with three to six months—with no degree or experience required,” Google said.

The advisory nonprofit Social Finance is one of three nonprofits working with the public, private, and social sectors to form partnerships and investments “that measurably improve lives,” the tech giant added.

“We are excited to support Social Finance to help expand economic opportunity for more Americans with our new $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund,” Pichai said.

“This innovative funding model brings together digital skills training and support services to connect more Americans to high-growth, high-paying jobs,” Pichai continued.

“We hope it will be transformative for people, their families, and their communities.”

Google is teaming up with Social Finance, as well as two other nonprofits on the initiatives, Year Up and Merit America.

“We are excited to support Social Finance to help expand economic opportunity for more Americans with our new $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet. “This innovative funding model brings together digital skills training and support services to connect more Americans to high-growth, high-paying jobs. We hope it will be transformative for people, their families, and their communities.”

“The Biden administration is laser-focused on creating good-paying jobs for American workers, and it is especially important for us to come up with creative solutions that enable women and parents to fully participate in our economy,” said Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce. “Top business leaders understand that investments like child care are fundamentally investments that enable people to work. That’s good for workers, it’s good for the economy and it’s good for business. I look forward to continue working with Google and its partners behind this innovative program to help families get ahead.”

Through this new initiative, more than 20,000 Americans will be empowered through the Certificates, which equip people with job-ready skills in fields like Data Analytics, IT Support, Project Management, and UX Design within 3-6 months—with no degree or experience required.

The training organizations will be paid partially for their resources upfront and receive additional payments only if their graduates land and keep higher-paying jobs. The program will use Google philanthropy and interest-free loan repayments from students for funding.

Students will begin repaying the loans only if they get a job that pays at least $40,000 a year. The payments will be about $100 a month and continue for a maximum of five years.

“I genuinely think this is one of the important areas for society to figure out,” said Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in an interview. If the project is successful, Mr. Pichai said, he hopes it will be a “template for other companies to do more.”